Improvement in elevators



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS F. GHRISTMAN, OF WILSON, NORTH CAROLINA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND WILLIE DANIEL, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN ELEVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 58,715, dated October 9, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS F. GHRrsTMAN, of the town and county of Wilson, in the State of North Carolina, (assigner to himself and Willie Daniel, of the same place,) have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinery for Elevating Brick, Mortar, and other material for building purposes; also, sand, gravel, and earth in excavating, or ore from the shafts of mines, me.; and the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same,

reference bein g had tothe accompanying drawin g, making a part of this ,speciiicatioin .in which the 1i gure represents the apparatus and machinery as placed ,the upper portion mounted above the third story of a brick buildin g in the course of being erected.

The object of my invention is to save time and a vast amount of hardest kind of labor in the erection of brick buildings, and also to save the shoveling of earth onto several terraces to get it to the surface in making deep excavations, and for raising ores and minerals from the shafts of mines, and for the general purpose of elevating such substances as can be placed in buckets and depositing it in any desired place at any desired height.

My invention consists in constructing a couple of strong, light, and porta-ble frames, in one of which a simple cylinder or roller is hung on journals, the uprights being 4curved to form arms and axles for side guide-rollers, this frame forming the base or groundwork ot' the elevating apparatus, the top or elevated frame being secured to timbers, so as to beindependent of the base or lower frame, and supports a shaft on which are placed two endless chain-pulleys and a large spurgear wheel, into which a pinion on a crank-shaft is made to operate so as to carry up a series of buckets which are secured to the links of a chain constructed for the purpose.

My invention further consists in carrying up the upper frame and apparatus and securing it on the wall or joist as the walls of the building are carried up and the joist placed.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe it more in detail, referring to the drawing and t0 the letters of reference marked thereon.

I make a square frame, A, of joist, of suitable size for the strength required. On it are erected iron frames or standards B B, the tops of which are curved and vturned back so as to form arms b b and axles for placing guiderollers a a. At a suitable height are bean ings in the standards B B for the journals c c of the drum or cylinder O. This part of the apparatus is made so light and portable that itca-n be easily handled by two men, and placed and anchored in any desired position, either outside of the walls or inside of the building; or it can be let down into a pit or excavation Vas it is being sunk, and secured there, for the purpose it has to perform.

The top or elevating apparatus is constructed somewhat similar to the one above described, the standards D D being straight and connected together by a cross-tie, d, at the top, the arched bracing-feet o o being bolted to the frame-timbers E E, which should be of sufficient length to rest on the frame-work of the building, so as to allow the frame to project over the wall a sufcient distance for the chain and buckets to pass freely on the outside. On the standards D D are journal-boxes, in which the crank-shaft F and driving-pinion f are hung, above which is the roller-shaft g, on which is the large spur-gear wheel G and the endless-chain pulleys h h, which support and carry the longlink endless chains H H, on which, at intervals, are secured the hods or buckets I I, in which the brick, mortar, or other material is placed for being raised to the required height for use. A trough or table, J, may be secured to the frame-timbers E, so that the buckets will discharge their contents onto it, to be taken and distributed where they are wanted; or brick hand-barrows and mortarboards can be placed to receive the contents of each bucket as it is ready to be discharged, so that a supply of the material can be kept within reach of the masons without any litter or clogging up the staging. As story after story goes up, and the stagingA built, the topframe apparatus is placed either upon it or the building, and a sufficient number of links are added to the chains H H to make the connection.

In making deep excavations in the earth for the purpose of building culverts, sewers, or drains of any kind, instead of shoveling the earth ont-o different terraces made as high as a man can reach after the excavation is too deep to throw onto the surface by one shoveling, I place the frame A B in the pit, and the top apparatus D E in anyplace above thesurface where I desire to discharge the earth, or whatever substance is dug up. If it be sand or gravel or any substance to be taken away by a cart or car, I place the top apparatus so that the hods or buckets will empty their contents directly into it, so that but one shoveling is required to remove the matter from the bottom of the pit, and as the hole is deepened the bottom frame can be lowered down and additional links or buckets inserted the same as for carrying up to a greater height. Brick and mortar can also be let down into the excavation for the purpose of masonry with equal advantage.

For all the purposes of mining where perpendicular shafts are sunk the above-described apparatus will be found to be equally available, the depth of the shaft or the height of a building not materially affecting the operation, only in time, the power being always applied at the top to draw up theload. The empty buckets and chain returning balance the buckets and chain, so that whatever length it may be necessary to have the chain no more buckets need be used than can be easily drawn up by the power elnployed, and only the weight of the contents in the bucket is lifted.

Vhen the apparatus is placed so that the endless chain is inclined, it can be supported,

if found necessary, at intervals by placing friction-rollers both under and at each side of the chain, and a ratchet wheel or pawl may be attached to the windlass to hold the weight and prevent the chain from ruiming back; also, a friction-brake may be applied, so that things may be lowered in the buckets with safety.

Thus it cannot fail to be seen that by the use of my improved apparatus for elevating brick, mortar, and other substances, as above described, a very large amount of physical force and manual labor are saved, and consequently a great saving otl time and money in the building of brick structures, as well as in excavating, mining, and moving other kinds of material.

I do not claim the placing of a series ot' buckets on an endless chain for elevating or raising up various substances ;V but,

Having described my invention, what I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The arrangement and combination of the base-frame A B, cylinder C, and guide-rollers act on the bent arms b b with the top windlassframe, D E, windlass F G, chain-pulleys h It, adjustable endless chain H H, and elevatingbuckets I I, to operate at various heights, substantially as and for the purposes herein setforth.

Signed on this 12th day of June, 1866.

THOMAS F. CHRISTMAN.

Witnesses:

WM. FRERT, J. B. WOODRUFF. 

